Ribal Al-Assad's Opening Speech to Cultural Diplomacy Conference

The Iman Foundation & Institute of Cultural Diplomacy (ICD) co-organised and co-hosted the second annual ICD/IMAN Conference on Cultural Diplomacy:

The topic of the conference was "Cultural Diplomacy & Cross Continental Cooperation: Building Bridges for a United Global Community" and took place in Berlin between December 17th - 21st, 2013.

Ribal Al-Assad, Chairman of the Iman Foundation opened the conference with a speech on "Cultural Diplomacy: a Global Antidote to Extremism". It was well received by the audience of distinguished guests and young leaders.

The full text of the speech is as follows:

Good afternoon …

… and welcome to an event to which I have long-been looking forward.

It is a pleasure to be standing here …

… and an honour to be in the company of such an august group of cultural diplomats!

I flew here from London …

… a city with so many similarities to Berlin …

… which has been in the news for good and bad reasons in the past few days.

You will be aware of the trial of two men charged with the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby …

… in Woolwich last summer.

Last week …

… at the Old Bailey …

… Michael Adebolajo, one of the defendants …

… explained his actions thus:

"I am a soldier of Allah and this is a war".

A week earlier, at their North London stadium …

… Arsenal Football Club – which was formed in Woolwich …

… hosted a league game against Hull City.

Their first goal was scored by a Dane.

Their second was scored by Mesut Ozil …

… a nationalised German from a family of Turkish refugees.

At one stage, 60,000 fans inside the stadium sung Ozil’s name.

Hull City’s best chance was squandered by Yannick Sagbo …

… born in the Ivory Coast …

… brought-up in France …

… and living in the North East of England.

These two events demonstrate the polar extremes of cultural influence.

On one hand we see nations, religions and cultures brought together through the commonality of sport.

On the other, we witness a man from a peaceful British family …

… indoctrinated by extremist groups at University …

… and turning to the most abhorrent form of violence in the name of religion.

A religion followed by many millions of law-abiding, liberal and progressive people around the world …

… but whose very identity is being tarnished by a minority of fundamentalists.

This polarisation presents the context for everything we will discuss here in the days ahead.

Because at the heart of our subject lies a paradox.

Because ‘culture’ is a catalyst for good and evil.

And it is our challenge …

… and the challenge of every liberal-minded individual across the world …

… to cement and develop its role as a force for good.

And if any City in the world …

… has been affected by the good and evil that culture can bring …

… that City is Berlin.

The events of the 1930s and 40s …

… do not require any introduction from me.

They shaped twentieth century history in the most tragic way.

And they proved how, when controlled by ‘hard power’ …

… music, art, cinema, theatre, religion and sport …

… can all be manipulated in terrible directions.

Fortunately, the past seventy years have seen soft power come to the fore here.

The spirit of the seventeenth century Enlightenment has been re-born.

And Berlin has, once again, been lauded for its policies on immigration and religious tolerance.

The majority of Berliners now claim to have no affiliation to any religion.

But within it, Muslims, Jews, Catholics and Protestants live together.

The Jewish story is perhaps the most poignant.

Many tens of thousands of Jews now live here …

… setting-up new communities …

… establishing synagogues …

… and integrating seamlessly with the multi-cultural environment around them.

If good news created headlines …

… this is a story that would run and run.

In and around this inter-faith acceptance …

… lies a City described by David Bowie as:

“The Greatest Cultural Extravaganza that One Could Imagine”!

And to illustrate just how apt that description is …

… I’d like to mention just three local events.

The first - a public / private partnership - took place back in October.

It was called ‘Professional Strategic Communications Training to Prepare and Empower

Muslim Community Leaders to Counter Extremism and to Promote Interfaith

Understanding.’

The title may be a mouthful (!) …

… but its two intentions were clear and progressive.

The first was to empower peaceful messaging to drown out extremism …

… using strategic communication tools on mainstream and social media platforms …

… reaching general audiences as well as youth elements within Muslim communities.

The second was to promote interfaith dialogue and build bridges of mutual understanding …

… to support local integration goals …

… bringing together local Muslim leaders with other stakeholders.

The second event takes place this coming weekend.

It is the Louis Lewandowski music festival.

Lewandowski was a nineteenth century German-Jewish composer …

… who spend most of his life in Berlin.

His work modernized the Jewish liturgy by creating new harmonies to accompany the religious ceremonies.

In the process he made Jewish synagogue music popular all over the world.

At this weekend’s festival, the core Ensemble will be supported by choirs from Europe, Asia and Africa.

Concerts will be held in synagogues, churches and other cultural institutions.

Both will be attended by different groups …

… at different times …

… and with different priorities.

But both are perfect examples of the approach being advocated at the third event.

Which is our own …

… taking place here this week.

Our primary goal is to review and analyse the progress during the last year …

… in the areas of Cultural Diplomacy, Cross Continental Cooperation and Democracy Promotion, successful peace building and reconciliation, human rights, multiculturalism and harmonious international relations.

‘Cultural relations’ refers to the sharing of ‘soft’ activities in achieving these goals.

And it is truly inspiring …

… to see that the entertainment taking place here around our more formal agenda …

… illustrates that the ICD is not just ‘talking the talk’ …

… but simultaneously ‘walking the walk’.

Tomorrow evening’s 'This is Our Planet' concert …

… is in honour of the victims of Typhoon Haiyan.

It has been organised in conjunction with UNICEF …

… and Berlin’s Filipino community.

On Thursday, Marcia Barrett will be presenting ‘The Strength of Song’ …

… illustrating music's ability to transcend borders and bring people together …

… irrespective of the political, social, or cultural context.

When I last spoke here I mentioned Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said’s East-West divan Orchestra …

… which is just one high-profile example of music’s ‘soft’ power.

The goodwill messages of the US Jazz ambassadors during the Cold War …

… the campus songs of the anti-Vietnam protest movement …

… the sounds of Miriam Makeba during South African apartheid …

… the songs of Scorpion promoting East-West German reunification in the immediate period prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall:

Each has, in its own way, had a positive effect on modern history …

… in areas where politicians and ‘hard’ power had failed.

Only yesterday …

… on my way to the airport …

… I heard a taxi driver playing Bob Dylan's Blowin' in the Wind.

Its last verse includes the words:

"How many years can a people exist before they're allowed to be free?"

It is impossible to measure it’s direct influence on the Civil Rights movement …

… but there can be no doubt that it played a significant role.

Marcia was previously in the German band Bony M …

… one of the first mainstream Western Acts allowed behind the Iron Curtain during the 1970s.

She has a long and impressive record of music in the name of peace.

This included ‘No War! Peace and Love’ …

… with proceeds going to the War Child charity organization for children in war zones.

I know how much we are all looking forward to both evenings …

… amidst the awareness that they are not just to be enjoyed in the here and now …

… but for what they represent symbolically …

… in terms of our greater goal.

Our subject has, this year, been the subject of a detailed report by John Holden …

… of the Think Tank Demos and the British Council.

It is called ‘Influence and attraction: Culture and the race for soft power in the 21st century’ …

… and it focuses on the growing awareness of the relevance and potential impact of cultural relations.

It demonstrates how expenditure is increasing in this area …

… but with a return on investment already being gleaned through tourism and trade.

There has been a measurable growth in this area in the world's fastest developing nations ...

... including the 'BRICS' countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa …

... and also more widely across Asia and the Middle East.

This global appreciation of the work at the heart of the ICD …

… is particularly resonant for me and the IMAN Foundation which I chair.

The Foundation was launched two and a half years ago …

… to promote inter-faith and inter-cultural dialogue …

… and to challenge extremism across the world.

Our goals are ambitious.

We campaign incessantly against those who promote hatred, violence and killing …

… and in the process we have attracted support from high-profile religious and political leaders from across the globe.

I have had the great privilege of travelling far and wide to meet many of them …

… to discuss the measures we can take to counter the growing evil of religious extremism.

They include the leaders of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt …

... the Grand Mufti of Egypt …

… the Lebanese Patriarch …

… the Mufti of Lebanon …

… the President of the Jewish Community in Berlin …

… the leaders of the Protestant Church here in Germany …

… and the Head Monk of the Yonghegong Lama Temple in Beijing.

They represent very different creeds …

… but they share a set of values.

Each appreciates that no faith can flourish in isolation …

… and that segregation accelerates misunderstanding and suspicion …

… which, in turn, can fuel violence.

As a result, they have all supported IMAN’s campaign, launched in 2011 …

… to 'Say No to Extremism and Sectarianism' ...

... because they understand that the world can only benefit from greater levels of tolerance and harmony.

And experience demonstrates that when IMAN and the ICD work together …

… we make a great team.

I have no doubt that great progress will be made this week.

But despite the many examples of successful cultural diplomacy upon which we will focus …

… we must not allow ourselves to be distracted from the huge amount of work still to be done.

Religion has never presented such a threat to global peace and harmony.

As a Syrian …

… living in exile from my native country for many years …

… I am all too aware of the growing threat of Islamic extremism.

Syria is, of course, now in the grip of a civil war …

… being fought between a tyrannical regime …

… and a collection of rebel Islamist groups of various denominations.

But the fundamentalist cancer spreads much further …

… evidenced by the well-publicised atrocities in Kenya and Nigeria …

… the latest acts of terrorism in Algeria, Mali and Libya …

… the sectarian conflicts in Lebanon and Iraq …

… and the extremist enclaves in Russian Chechnya and China’s Xinjiang Province.

Groups like Boko Haram, Abu Sayyaf, Al- Shabab, The Turkistan Islamic Party, Al Nusra, The Islamic State of Syria and Iraq, The Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas …

… have the power to destroy large parts of society.

And in real terms, our role is not to combat those already committed to them …

… (that is where the role of hard power cannot be dismissed) …

… but to help influence their potential recruits …

… by demonstrating the benefits of integration and mutuality.

The causes of extremism are deep-rooted and complex.

Cultural and diplomatic integration present the only way towards a longer-term resolution.

They can help the world unite in the face of Islamic Fundamentalism ...

... which threatens us all directly or indirectly ...

... from New York to Nairobi ...

... London to Lagos ...

... Mumbai to Moscow to Madrid ...

... Boston to the Balkans ...

... Indonesia to India ...

... and China to Chad.

It won't happen by chance ...

... or by waiting for others to take the lead.

It requires us all to promote the values that unite us against the evil of Islamism.

And those values are our humanity …

… our love for life …

… and our willingness to embrace it in conjunction with those of different backgrounds.

Ultimately we believe in a world that is here to be lived in and loved ...

... rather than one in which violence is encouraged with the promise of rewards after death.

It will take time ...

... but our fight is not just for the here and now ...

... but to create a better, safer world for our children and for future generations.

The good news is that although the world is beset by problems …

… and the threat of extremism is all too real …

… we represent the majority.

That majority is made up of people of all religious, ethnic and cultural backgrounds …

… whose values are essentially liberal …

… and who yearn for a more peaceful world.

It is a fact of life that the majority is often silent …

… and forced to feel the effects of the noise created by those whose modus operandi is more sinister.

Culture presents the opportunity to spread the very interests and qualities that appeal to the majority.

Many millions listened to the music of Bony M at a time when diplomatic relations between East and West were frozen.

Even at the very heart of the Middle East’s troubles …

… the YaLa-Young Leaders group has utilised social media to spread the word that the majority want peace, not conflict.

Last night I surfed the internet, and was subsumed by wonderful examples of cultural relations.

In one heart-warming episode, relations between Ghana and Colombia were reported to have flourished after a joint musical collaboration at the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park in Accra.

There is a huge appetite for this work.

And never more so than in this symbolic period …

… as we celebrate the life of Nelson Mandela.

His very name is synonymous with peace and reconciliation.

And his belief in the role of cultural assimilation …

… was strong.

He understood the role that sport could play in re-uniting a fractured South Africa …

… and the rugby world cup final of 1995 …

… when he presented the trophy to the white captain of the national side …

… whilst wearing the Springbok shirt …

… was a moment that captured everything we stand for.

As Holden’s report puts it:

“Cultural diplomacy creates conditions for broad and deep cultural exchange to flourish – because peer-to-peer exchange is more likely to generate trust.”

Culture is not forced upon us from the state …

… it grows from the grass roots of society.

It creates a very real sense of identity that is not restricted by geographical or religious boundaries.

It is, unquestionably, a force for good …

… as demonstrated by this great City of Berlin …

… a living, breathing example of diplomacy and culture in action.

Which is why it provides such a perfect setting for this Conference.

I hope every one of you has a fabulous few days …

… and that, as a result of our work …

… the world will become safer, happier and more harmonious.

Thank you.